Summer in Whistler begins at the lake

Summer at Whistler begins in the mountains — and in the lakes, and rivers, and golf courses.Mike Crane
/ Courtesy Torism Whistler

The river of Golden Dreams is just one of a multitude of adventures awaiting visitors to Whistler.Courtesy
/ Neville Judd

Located right at the base of Blackcomb Mountain, the Blackcomb Base Adventure Zone offers a variety of activities for all ages.Chad Chomlack
/ Courtesy Tourism Whistler

Ramp up the adventure with a rafting trip on Green River.Mike Crane
/ Courtesy Tourism Whistler

A quiet meander down the River of Golden Dreams, I'd promised my wife. After 36 hours of skiing, cycling, trail running, stand-up paddle boarding, dancing, eating and drinking, this would be a relaxing canoe cruise in the sunshine, a chance to mellow ourselves from weekend warriors to weekend wanderers.

It didn't work out that way. We'd come for Whistler's Great Outdoors Festival, a.k.a. GO Fest. Held on the Victoria Day long weekend, GO Fest was the chance to cram an entire Whistler summer of activities into four days. A packed schedule had offered everything from fly-fishing to disc golf, river rafting to yoga, and much in between that involved wearing a silly costume.

By Sunday, my legs were aching from Saturday-night's AlpenGlow Fun Run, a six-kilometre jog around Lost Lake, while wearing glow sticks. Or they might have ached from skiing Blackcomb's Seventh Heaven all day; or from jumping up and down to The Sheepdogs during Friday night's concert in the village.

Cycling Whistler's Valley Trail on Sunday morning, we stopped at Lakeside Park where we met Eric White of Backroads Whistler. When he told us about paddling the River of Golden Dreams, the timing seemed perfect: No pressure to perform; tranquillity now. Backroads Whistler even picks you up at the end of the two-to threehour paddle.

"People were coming here for the lakes long before the skiing," Eric pointed out. "I think you'll really enjoy it."

To get our sea legs we warmed up with a stand-up paddle boarding session. Stand-up paddle boarding, or SUP, has taken off in recent years and it's easy to see why. Not unlike snowshoeing, SUP offers a short learning curve and gets you closer to the elements. It can be as relaxing or as strenuous as you want. Eric gave us a quick tutorial on the dock and we were off.

The Kahuna boards designed by Whistler local, Steve Legge, were exceptionally stable, despite my initial fears of falling. (The lake ice broke just a month before!) It only took a couple of lengths between Lakeside's docks for it to begin to feel like a core workout.

Now acclimatized to the occasional gusts picking up on Alta Lake, we paddled to shore for a new vessel.

Backroads offers kayaks and double kayaks but we opted for a two-person canoe. The canoe requires smooth communication between paddlers to navigate the notoriously tight corners of the River of Golden Dreams.

It's also known as "The Divorce Boat," according to Eric.

"We've only been married 23 years, what could possibly go wrong?" I asked my wife.

The River of Golden Dreams connects Alta Lake with Green Lake about three kilometres north. Because of its stubborn refusal to follow a straight line, the river's full length is closer to five kilometres. In places, the river is barely wider than a canoe and portaging is sometimes necessary, depending on water levels, which can fluctuate rapidly depending on rain and snow melt.

After a quick paddling tutorial, we donned our life-jackets and set sail. Within 15 minutes we'd crossed Alta Lake and were nearing the mouth of the river. That's when I noticed people waving at us from a bridge. Seconds later we heard a siren - the kind that's normally accompanied by a loud voice shouting "release the hounds."

"Why are those people waving at us?" asked my wife from the bow.

The answer appeared over our left shoulders: canoeists, two to a boat and wearing helmets and numbered pinnies, launching from a nearby beach and paddling straight for us. Unsure whether the people on the bridge were waving us in or away, we opted to paddle for the river, full steam ahead. At the bridge we made two discoveries. The first was that we'd need to portage a few yards because we'd arrived at a weir. The second was that we'd unwittingly joined a pivotal leg in GO Fest's Great Snow-Earth-Water Race - a gruelling six-stage competition involving skiing, biking, running and canoeing.

"We're expecting two dozen canoes through here," a young man with a radio told us. "You might want to sit out and let them through."

It occurred to me that on a narrow, winding river with few passing lanes and a head start, we could actually try to win the race. Then my wife reminded me that this was supposed to be a cruise. She also said something about ethics.

So for 20 minutes we perched at a picnic table and watched contestants portage their canoes around the weir and back into the river, cheered on by locals. When everyone had passed us, we re-launched and quickly learned to adapt to the river's ever-changing moods: turn too tightly and fast eddies would pull us into the reeds; lose concentration and we'd find ourselves turning sideways to the current.

But the lush wetlands and snowy peaks beyond the banks made up for the occasional brushes with low branches. Better yet, during the course of our 90-minute paddle we became minor celebrities to those who had turned out to cheer on the racers. Everyone loves plucky losers and despite not wearing race pinnies, we were assumed by many to be the last-place finishers in the canoe stage of the Great Snow-Earth-Water Race.

I still think we probably could have won it! The River of Golden Dreams (Backroads Whistler - riverofgoldendreams.com or 604 932-3111) is just one of a multitude of adventures awaiting visitors to Whistler this summer. Here are five more.

Hit the Valley Trail: For a better perspective on Whistler's surroundings get out of the village and onto the Whistler Valley Trail. More than 40 kilometres of paved trail and boardwalks connect Whistler's lakes, parks and neighbourhoods. The trail is suitable for bikes, rollerbladers, joggers, walkers and well-behaved pets.

Whistler.com offers more information on making the most of the Valley Trail, including a blog on the trail's "six perfect spots."

Shred the Park: Valley Trail offers a benign cycling experience and cross-country cyclists will find more than 500 kilometres of single track around Whistler. The Whistler Bike Park, though, condenses the best of Whistler's downhill for all levels of mountain biker. Ride the lift up and take your pick of alpine-view trails, banked cruisers through the forest, tight, winding single track and - for the experts - steep rock faces. Whistler Bike Park offers numerous ticket deals, including some with rentals, and accommodation packages. More information is at whistlerblackcomb.com.

Ride the river(s): If paddling the River of Golden Dreams is too tame for you, consider whitewater rafting either of the Green, Lower Cheakamus, Elaho or Squamish rivers. A range of half-day and full-day tours are available from Whistler, (whistler.com/rafting) or from the Sunwolf Centre in Brackendale near Squamish (sunwolf.net/rafting).

Fly by the seat of your pants! The most exciting thing I've ever done in Whistler is ziplining at Cougar Mountain, just north of Whistler. Superfly Ziplines (superflyziplines.com) runs Canada's longest, fastest, highest ziplines where speeds of more than 100 km/h are made possible by runs well over a kilometre long, 200 metres off the ground. Strap into a paragliding-style harness, attach to half an inch of galvanized steel with a trolley rig and prepare to fly! Ziptrek Ecotours (ziptrek. com) combines similar thrills above Fitzsimmons Creek with a strong environmental ethos.

Ski in a T-shirt: For all the great winter skiing at Whistler, the novelty of descending Horstman Glacier while wearing a T-shirt in July is hard to beat. Until late July, two or three runs, plus the terrain park remain open atop Blackcomb, where lunch on the deck of the Horstman Hut is a must.

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